In this video, I share how to fill raised garden beds with real, healthy garden soil. Thousands of gardeners are incorrectly filling raised garden beds with expensive items like bagged potting mixes, peat moss, coco coir, perlite and vermiculite. Potting mix is NOT garden soil, and if you are using these products in your raised bed garden, the soil mix is slowly poisoning your garden beds! Stop wasting money filling raised beds and use correct ingredients.
• How To Fill Garden Beds (Small Quantity): https://youtu.be/c-BRQwfVn8Y?si=IKCnEJU0pfai_PcD
• How To Make Potting Soil: https://youtu.be/t3kx5PhCJU8?si=8_bk1rskrh_g9w-V
I use the following products* were featured in this video or used for raised bed gardening:
Dump Cart (7 Cu Ft): https://amzlink.to/az0pQNZ06Lunl
Gommeted Tarps: https://amzlink.to/az0ug8B43ERbr
Soil Sifter: https://amzlink.to/az0x2xCzz4bmp
Grow Bags (Black): https://amzlink.to/az0UDaVzkSLWi
Grow Bags (Tan): https://amzlink.to/az02kBaExY5sL
Raised Bed Kit (4ft X 2ft): https://amzlink.to/az0ktdU6Rchev
Raised Bed Kit (6ft X 3ft): https://amzlink.to/az0hxdXuWxOzA
Raised Bed Deep Kit (6ft X 3ft): https://amzlink.to/az0yqCyIL7rzw
Raised Bed Kit (8ft X 2ft): https://amzlink.to/az0nNwse4vGKF
Perlite (4 Cu Ft): https://amzlink.to/az0TQC2E7HBcd
Vermiculite, Coarse (4 Cu Ft): https://amzlink.to/az0H2MWaQez0l
Vermiculite, Medium (4 Cu Ft): https://amzlink.to/az0iSi6DU72K1
Coco Coir (10lb): https://amzlink.to/az0XNoEahXL7x
Pruning Snips: https://amzlink.to/az0S6BULZGPmi
Thicker Row Cover, 1.5oz/yd, 10x30FT: https://amzlink.to/az09JmFkSWHQS
Watering Wand: https://amzlink.to/az0O3ZfEhftZ8
Weed Barrier: https://amzlink.to/az0yusYtZsmmk
Shade Cloth: https://amzlink.to/az01boLJy9JNI
Insect Netting: https://amzlink.to/az0H5tKMYxP2O
Alaska Fish Fertilizer [5-1-1] (Gallon): https://amzlink.to/az0Jhw8liNoe3
True Organic All Purpose Fertilizer [5-4-5]: https://amzlink.to/az0lVAel6Wss7
Espoma PlantTone [5-3-3] (36lb): https://amzlink.to/az0gylQKIH3hO
Espoma PlantTone [5-3-3] (50lb): https://amzlink.to/az0dh0dYaye1l
Espoma Bone Meal (10lb): https://amzlink.to/az0KAuCOZcPgQ
True Organic Blood Meal (3lbs): https://amzlink.to/az0jNeCruTl6a
Azomite Trace Minerals (44lb): https://amzlink.to/az0qPn4i34Eol
Jack’s All Purpose [20-20-20] (1.5lb): https://amzlink.to/az0JG0Dv6Da0h
Jack’s All Purpose [20-20-20] (25lb): https://amzlink.to/az0F6FgxdhKjO
Jack’s Blossom Booster [10-30-20] (25lb): https://amzlink.to/az08lv7ZJFnUu
• Full Amazon Store: https://amzlink.to/az0yli4Cz0iXX
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:36 Potting Mix VS Garden Soil
3:07 Why Raised Beds Need Topsoil
5:16 How To Fill Garden Beds Correctly
7:17 How To Fill Small Garden Beds
8:01 How To Amend Garden Soil
9:09 Can I Garden In Native Soil?
10:53 Summary Of Raised Garden Bed Tips
12:34 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to fill a raised garden bed, how to grow a vegetable garden at home, how to grow fruit trees or the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, please ask in the Comments below!
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
Zone 8B, 34.1°N Latitude
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© The Millennial Gardener
#gardening #garden #raisedbedgarden #vegetablegardening #vegetablegarden
46 Comments
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0:00 Introduction
0:36 Potting Mix VS Garden Soil
3:07 Why Raised Beds Need Topsoil
5:16 How To Fill Garden Beds Correctly
7:17 How To Fill Small Garden Beds
8:01 How To Amend Garden Soil
9:09 Can I Garden In Native Soil?
10:53 Summary Of Raised Garden Bed Tips
12:34 Adventures With Dale
I have clay heavy soil and access to fresh horse manure compost. What would you suggest I add to that? Just sand?
Bless your heart! I sweet rescued dog at the end of the video! I'm so tired of Youtubers trotting out animals purchased from breeders. You now have a new loyal subscriber. I have two vegan rescued dogs and twelve rescued chickens, all implanted to stop the egg laying that kills them young. Good for you! Plus you gave some really good info. that none of the other Youtubers have given.
Perlite doesn't decompose rapidly or over time. I don't see anything wrong with using it as an additive to any existing soil.
Is this sweet peet?
Thank you for saving me $300-$400 that I planned to spend on the stuff you say poisons our garden. That bad information is all over the kntrrmet. I am a subscriber to your channel and always get useful information from you.
I also admire your raised beds. Did you build them yourself? Your garden layout looks like a plant nursery. Bravo!!
I will be checking out your shop link or give a super thanks. Keep making no-nonsense videos. I'll keep watching and sharing.
If I need to add this topsoil and this compost to an existing raised bed to freshen it up for the coming growing season, do I need to till up the existing older soil and then work the new in, or do I just take the topsoil and compost and just put it on top of the existing soil in the raised garden bed?
Perlite is a type of volcanic glass and is completely inorganic. It doesn’t decompose, whereas peat moss and coco coir are organic materials that do break down—though very slowly, often taking several years.
Hello MG! I am trying several of the vegetables you listed as your favorites! I'm curious about your method for plant placement. Do you only plant tomatoes in the tomato bed, etc.? Its probably beneficial to mix plants in a bed but what about for production? Last year I had a luffa vine and mexican sunflower that took over my entire tomato bed. This year, I'm definitely not planting those two things but wondering with all of the varieties that you are growing, how you do placement in your raised beds? Thanks for the very best videos and for all of the hard work you put into your garden. Always so much to learn from you!
with the cost of Peatmoss, Vermiculite and compose, it's cheaper to buy soil mixes near me. garden soil is full of so much junk, (Rocks, wood, plastic and who knows what else) that it's not worth buying. I don't know how they are selling that stuff
This guy likes mud root-bound dead air/trapped water rot cakes. Depends on what you are growing. Annuals? Ok that's fine. But not for other plant/tree uses.
First off no one is recommending only organics like peat moss and coir. That's insane and a strawman argument. You got it wrong, or my three decades of tree nursery and bonsai got it wrong. Your recommendations are fine grained and clogged over time.
That's why coarse grained inorganic mixes remain root friendly years longer. You went from talking true coarse inorganic/organic mixes and stopped just on the organics. That is misleading. Better understanding the role of vermiculite and perlite, and other inorganics. How to dop dress with light compost/top soils.
I pick up cow paddies and mix it with pine needles from under the pinion I’ve been fire mitigating. Add in some bio char made from the cut out branch’s, and use water from the koi pond? It’s GOLD.
you are absolutely dreaming if you can get 1 cubic yard of topsoil mixture for less than that vermiculite or perlite where I am the A-3 bag costs $69 here
I disagree with you. If you have actually worked on a farm then you would know that what you are using has a purpose.
Regarding myself, I use vermiculite to grow my own food in pots, but based on how I saw it was used on the internet, and I think on a farm as well that I was working at in 2025 well I might use it in other ways if I ever get the chance to do, so. Vermiculite, and perlite is not something that was made specifically for 1, and only for 1 purpose!
So that is called transplanting. You should be able to use the potting mix soil to start growing your plants then when it is mature enough then transplant your plants into the native soil, but before anyone tries to do this then they should know if the native soil is compatible with the seedlings.
In my case I was successful at fully growing some of my plants in potting mix last year, so I did not use any native soil. I think it really depends on what someone chooses to grow. Because there are plants that are just not able to be transplanted.
Right now, if you are in the south oaks are shedding their leaves and same with some others like bamboo. They are a valuable source of organic matter and nutrients.
Get a decent cordless blower and a tarp. put the tarp down, walk about 20' away and walking in a circle blow the leaves into the tarp. Drag the tarp when full to the garden and mix into the soil.
I mentioned bamboo earlier because thy are an abundant source of small light colored leaves. I put these on top of the beds as a mulch. The resist breaking down and help keep the soil cooler.
Bio-char is one of the few long lasting sources of carbon in the garden.
I’ve never heard anyone say to fill raised beds with just peat moss or coco coir and compost. And I never heard anyone suggest vermiculite. I got some raised beds years ago and did a lot or research on what to fill them with. Every one had a slightly different formula, but they were all about 50% topsoil / dirt and 50% organic matter. As for the organic matter, some said all compost, while others said mostly compost with a little peat moss. A few people said that if you have very heavy clay soil, a little perlite doesn’t hurt. 50% topsoil, 50% organic mater worked perfect for me.
Thank you, I never knew about this and was about to add the wrong thing into my raised bed!!
Si Nice 💞💞👌👌👍👍
I really enjoy your videos. In Hawaii we have bugs to deal with. I learned that if I use coco coir for my indoor plants, or starters to prepare for eventual placing outside don't have bugs like gnats show up.
After watching this video I was wondering what mix do you put in your perennial pots?
Thank you.
Good composted material and steer manure works wonders cheaper too
Go in as a community if you don't need a lot; folks in the neighborhood could pay a percentage of a truckload and then divvy up what they need.
I really appreciate your videos. Im in the same coastal area as you, just a bit north. I played with some container vegies last year, but I've done a rabit hole of your videos since, and I'm planning on at least 2 raised beds this year. Your advice is solid! Keep it up!
My favorite part of this video is the little tarp with big intentions.
Don't grow in raised beds full of bullshit. Problem solved.
Be careful with purchasing “topsoil.” We went to our local place that makes it, checked it out, and ordered it delivered since it looked good. The problem was as it sat in the first few raised beds it began becoming super heavy. While not like concrete that clay can turn into, it was way heavier with clay than we are used to here at the foot of a volcano in the western US. Turns out it was a mix that was a lot of clay with a smaller amount of sand. We luckily hadn’t yet completely mixed it in all our raised beds yet. That was when we realized: How do you make bricks? Clay and straw….peat moss can work just as well. We pulled the “topsoil” out and put it on the garden paths which we have not addressed yet. As a result this winter we ended up with paths that don’t dry out and leave wheelbarrow tracks through the wet, mucky “topsoil.” That is the complete opposite of our native sandy loam old forest natural soil. We are now adding construction sand, not play sand, from our local supplier made from broken down volcanic rock with none of the clay subsoil added into it. This will help provide the missing “bones” to build structure to the “soil” for our raised beds. Eventually we will add some clay into the beds as the organic mixture begins to decompose, when we are sure we won’t be making bricks!! Lesson learned—test out first before adding something to all our raised beds!
You should never work organic material, such as compost, into a bed below about one foot as it leads to the problems he describes. In nature you will find that below the top 12 inches of material there is almost no organic matter, only inorganic materials such as sand, silt or clay which are the source of the minerals plants require to grow. Think about that. Has nature got it wrong? The problem is that garden stores sell what is labeled as “soil” but is actually almost always composed solely of plant based materials. If you want to replicate nature you should only use this stuff to top off real soil that may be composed of limited amounts of organic material but should be mostly inorganic components, otherwise you are asking for trouble.
Perlite doesn’t decompose. It is one and done aeration for your soil, whatever soil type you have. Perlite is expanded volcanic rock, puffed like popcorn. While it can be crushed finer and finer, it does not decompose.
Another reason for raised beds, even if you have absolutely the best garden soil, are GOPHERS!! We have watched whole plants literally disappear into the ground before our watching eyes!
Glad I saw this before filling my garden beds this spring.
Wait. I thought you had a recent video about using mostly sand / mineral based soil and keeping compost on top?
Here you go bro, I know you were asking about it…
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No mention of worms to lighten and aerate the soil. I appreciate in north America they are a problem but for gardeners generally, they are essential for soil health.
The bags of soil often contain contaminants, even the compost.
I use mushroom compost and cheap topsoil. Equal amounts. My gardens do amazing.
good video thanks….i live near you on the coast and i've had my garden in-ground for over 20 years….high production even with "deluges". There are many agricultural farms within a stones throw and they do great….Rain is good!
Got 1 yard last week to top off my raised beds, getting another one tomorrow for other beds. $50 a truckload. They have just compost too but its "hot" so thats for resting winter beds.
It is also pure sand here off the coast of Holden Beach.
Great video 🙂
Perlite and vermiculite are a byproduct of asbestos
I don't think you have to worry too much if you made a mistake. Just keep adding compost every year when it sinks. Eventually your bed will recover.
Sorry Dude your wrong
Pretty sure this is why my garden has struggled the past couple years. Last year I added only sand, compost, and fertilizer to hopefully help correct this. Should I add top soil as well in that mix? I suspect this will take a few years to correct without digging it all out.
You have to be careful with mulch and soil created in mulch and compost yards with trees and limbs from trees infected with fungi and bacteria like the Oak Wilt. It will kill everything in your yard. It happened to my son. Buy from places where the mix has been "disinfected"!
Cococoir cost more that the others, I have mostly plants in pots , .
So my questions are: when I amend the raised beds every year, do I only add a layer of just ‘compost’ on top, or do I add a layer of the 1/2 Top soil + 1/2 compost mix ( for us who only have a couple small raised beds and buying the bags ) .. secondly, can I use this same mix in my grow bags? I assume yes… thanks so much for all the info!
Fun to know you use the same kind of dog food feeder that I do. Takes so much longer to finish his meal and luckily he doesn't chew it at all as I've seen in some demos before I bought his. His bowl has more divisions than yours. Cross Breed of Black Lab/Boxer. Thanks for this vid as I have two new metal raised beds 4'x2' on legs I just bolted together and completely empty as I watch this (whole yard paving stones). I'm transferring a half doz. or so, plastic pots for consolidation. I'll be dumping them in but will take your advise and obtain some bags of 'top soil' and 'compost' to mix into the current long term pot mix.
15 years working horticulture, and I found there's a lot of troubling info in this. You claim petemoss is toxic, but what do you think is the base of most mixes that you order from your local gardening center? Petemoss. It's the base of nearly all of the best soils on the market. You also fail to mention a single alternative. You can use pumice stone instead of perlite/vermiculite, but theres really nothing you can sub petemoss for besides cococoir or regular soil. Making your own soil mix is indeed expensive, but to say it'll just turn into a toxic sludge if you use petemoss is misinfo at best.